Basketball at the 1936 Summer Olympics — international basketball tournament
The 1936 Berlin Olympics marked basketball's debut as an official Olympic medal event, with medals presented by the sport's inventor James Naismith.
Key Facts
- Tournament dates
- 7–14 August 1936
- Nations entered
- 23 entered, 21 competed
- Gold medalist
- United States
- Silver medalist
- Canada
- Bronze medalist
- Mexico
- Court surface
- Outdoor lawn and dirt tennis courts
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Basketball had been a prominent international sport since its invention by James Naismith in 1891, and the International Olympic Committee along with the International Basketball Federation agreed to introduce it as an official Olympic medal event at the 1936 Berlin Games, choosing to experiment with an outdoor format using adapted tennis courts.
Twenty-one nations competed in the basketball tournament held from 7 to 14 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany. The matches were played on outdoor lawn and dirt tennis courts, which created difficulties during adverse weather. The United States defeated Canada in the final, with Mexico finishing third, and James Naismith himself presented the medals.
The United States claimed its first Olympic basketball gold medal, while Canada and Mexico earned silver and bronze respectively — their only Olympic basketball medals as of 2024. The outdoor format proved problematic and was not retained, but the tournament established basketball as a permanent Olympic discipline with 21 competing nations from its debut.
Result
at Outdoor tennis courts, Berlin, Germany